Chapter 86: Tenth Episode: Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 86: Tenth Episode: Chapter 4

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It seemed… Sparjoxin was only a mere twenty kilometers from Dulin! But why is it so cold? It’s as cold as the Northern woods. In the winter, practically everyone stayed at home, only the ones who were struggling to survive would work. Every year, between the 12th month to the 3rd month of the coming year, the sky above the town would be covered by cold air and thick clouds that collects snow. The earth would transform into a frozen land, woods dried up into crackling branches. After some snowfall, only foxes and wolves would roam the countryside.

However, all this would soon pass. In the eyes of the Northerners, winter is the fastest season to pass. A few cold wave and boom! The warm air would visit the land again.

In a blink of an eye, the spring of Year 792 had arrived.

In the eyes of Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette however, this winter was the longest! He locked himself in a small room in the Imperial Military Library, and would only leave for mealtimes and sleep.

His young messenger helped a lot! Born in a military household, Second Lieutenant Wellington Steinberger was no doubt more of a soldier than little Oscar was. On the northwestern border of Titan, House Steinberger was a huge deal that can determine the flow of a war. Once upon a time, before Titan had completed its military system, an invasion would require the Emperor to rely on the personal powers of the nobles. During the territorial war with the Deiss Kingdom, House Steinberger had been one of the central pillars to the war.

In this household, the youngsters were like the Andrews, they had been depending on their ability to fight. The young Wellington could wield a good bow and arrow, and even though no one had seen him brandish the double sword he had by his side, as the symbolic martial arts of the family, it must be believed he could use them well too.

Wellington had a fine foundation with the theory of military, Oscar even thought he had done a disservice to the second lieutenant, he should have at least a title of colonel or even a major general. Wellington didn’t seem to have minded, he said, the motto of the Steinberger is ‘A general who was never a soldier couldn’t be a good general.’ So everything had to start from the foundation.

Oscar agreed with Steinberger’s family motto. He, too, wanted to start from the beginning. The thick compendium of military terms would be the source of his basic military knowledge. According to his tutor General Rayleigh Thomas, he needed to memorize all the entries in the compendium.

Oscar couldn’t understand what he meant by it, but as soon as he flipped open the title page, he had been captivated by one sentence on it. That was a gift from Rayleigh.

‘War can be learned, and must be learned. Learning in depth about the history of war, understanding the essence of war, is the foundation to understanding how to use an army. Before that, you have to master all the names contained in the word ”war” and what they mean. Only by mastering these can you experience the specific meaning of war.’

He definitely was a teacher with a unique perspective! General Rayleigh Thomas had used a simple sentence to summarize the early education of warfare.

Oscar was a kid who understands things, he carried out his tutor’s commands diligently. The dictionary had some easier terms like ‘formation’, ‘battlefield geography’, and ‘scale’, there were also difficult entries like ‘passive defense’, ‘tactics of uncertainty’ and ‘accidental operational guidelines’. At this point, Oscar would need to depend on his military advisor and Second Lieutenant Wellington. The messenger would bring the relevant books for Oscar to read and debate with the military advisor to deepen his understanding.

This process was long! Oscar had a deep curiosity to know things and strong desire to get to the bottom of things, so he had held everything he’s read with a pinch of salt. This personality trait had determined his path of studying to not be so smooth, but also strengthened his ability to find the truth.

Because of his approach to information, General Rayleigh Thomas had to keep pushing back the date of Oscar’s entrance exam. By the time Oscar had finished most of the compendium, winter holidays had long ended, and including his stop in Dulin, he had missed a whole semester of studies.

However, Oscar still feel this studies during that time was fruitful. In the beginning, like all other students, he had been plagued by the feelings of boredness and monotony. He would take naps and would prepare snacks, sweets, cigar, and alcohol in the study room.

Things did change. For Oscar, it was very sudden. Specifically, when he understood what a word means. Page ninety-one, second line of the Year 743 version of the military dictionary, Narcissus Knights!

About this military force Oscar was so familiar about, the entry states:

”A personal force of House Andrew. On Church’s Year 356, 29th Day of the 7th Month, founded by the first Emperor of the Morisette Dynasty. The swear-in ceremony was held on a hill in Pabahn County of current day, where Narcissus flowers bloomed. After the Narcissus Knights successfully defended against the invasion of the Persians, they were granted the Eastern border of the Empire. Until current day, they were still defending that land. The Narcissus Knights were comprised of the Andrews and the citizens in its territory, but no matter who they are, whenever they donned the battle armor for the God of Light and the Divine Land of the West, they shall be called the ‘God-chosen Warriors’!”

”Ola! That’s me!” Oscar rubbed his stiff back. He noticed the text wasn’t the most precise text to fully explain the kind of entity Narcissus Knights is, but he only cared about the honor the name brought! This dictionary would tell the story to those who desired to learn about war, of a forces call the Narcissus Knights, and how it defended against the invaders for hundreds of years without losing even an inch of land.

”Andrew Haila!” The youngster stretched his back, he should start taking things more seriously.

Needless to say, not only are the theories and principles of battling a kind of knowledge, they are also a form of capability. Oscar realized that when he was scratching his head on the terminologies. This youngster was good at one thing, that’s his imagination and his thinking. He realized if he analyze a war like he would a human body, then whatever that makes up a war would be all these terms he memorized.

It could be understood this way! Oscar reckoned, since it was all these terms that make up a war, then the victory would be contingent on the understanding of the terms!

Another thing he noticed was that it was a skill to understand terminologies. Only with combining war histories and practical commanding exercises can these nouns and principles become one’s own abilities.

By acquiring these abilities, one could make the most accurate judgments for battle missions and make the best decisions. War theories, on the other hand, was the foundation to battle principles. The understanding of these terms would contribute to the increment of battle abilities. At this point, what Oscar lacked was the place to utilize these terms. As for physical practice, the Prince had sent His Majesty Alfa III a letter penned by himself. Looks like the Red Tiger Division will soon be utilized again.

***************

The Red Tiger is here! On the day of His Majesty’s approval, a whole troop of cavaliers were sent to Sparjoxin in the snow. Oscar inspected his men on the military training ground of the academy. This scenery was new to the students, some of them who didn’t go home for the winter holidays stood on the side of the field to audit the parade, there were even the dean Marshal Robin, as well as most of the high-ranking officers of the Imperial Academy.

The Red Tiger’s impressive bearing had robbed the students of their stature, they watched the remarkable horseback riding parade, they observed the chosen warriors perform their sparring practice. Naturally, students who crave the hot-bloodedness of a battle got attracted to the young man who was clearly someone important. Slowly, actually, almost immediately, they planted themselves near Prince O’Neil.

Compared to Prince Oscar who could sometimes seem slightly out of it, Countess Aeolia was the real woman-in-charge. Her workload suddenly increased by dozen-fold, not only did she need to investigate all the students near the Prince, she had to analyze their background, history, and social skills to extrapolate the reason they got close to the Prince.

All these happened in the 1st Month of Year 792. By the 2nd Month, the Red Tiger Knights had built a large camp in the area between the Northern forest and the city. According to the request of the academy, the Red Tiger would be treated as the imaginary enemy of the whole Dulin Imperial Military Academy.

As the 3rd Month neared, officers started coming back to the academy to resume their studies. Some of them were happy at the revelation, some others looked depressed.

Second Prince Lobmus Alfa Morisette was one of those who was disappointed. He realized his own fame had slid to a historical new low. To recover some of that fame, he made a declaration to himself in the warm wind that visited the city that spring.

”I will be better! I will work hard!”

This was followed by a warm body climbing into bed against the Second Prince. He yawned, and drifted away.

3rd Month, 10th Day, it’s the first day of school. Young officers changed into their uniforms, packed books they don’t even know how to read, and met the dean under the leadership of their class monitor. Afterward, they were hustled into their classrooms like mules to continue their boring studies, which, to some of them, weren’t even that useful.

On this day, Oscar finally took his entrance exam. It was within everyone’s expectation, but General Rayleigh Thomas was still proud to show his colleagues that exam paper that scored full marks.

There were some other things that were more cumbersome, like the fifty-nine middle-ranking officers from the thirty-ninth class of War History and Theory seminar who held a short inauguration ceremony for the class monitors. On that night itself, Oscar invited his fellow students to a reception at the most luxurious hotel in Sparjoxin, and even though little Oscar’s facial recognition skills weren’t strong, he still picked out a few people who stood out.

Firstly, it’s that Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi who lost fifty Golden Tis to Oscar, he’s a major, and the second son of the most famous firearm seller of the Empire, House Sukhoi.

By Oscar’s analysis, this kid who was nicknamed ”Walking Stick Torry” was a scoundrel through and through. Not only did he not cough up the money he had lost to Oscar, it’s also because of his superficial brain and vapid behaviors. This kid was recommended by the Northern Army Headquarters, but Oscar reckoned they must’ve wanted to get rid of him.

Birds of a feather flock together, in this class, everyone who mingles with Walking Stick Torry were pretty much similar in behavior.

The second one was pointed out by Oscar’s military advisor, Baron Gondol Abassia. It’s the Don River’s 11th Infantry Division Commander. Gondol had said when he was still a general, Krapitch Drake, this son of an ironsmith was still a staff of a major. This shocked Oscar. Abassia had only retired for four or five years, so this kid might be the fasting-rising commoner-officer. This guy was worth investing in.

The third one, Oscar had seen him a few times, he’s a burly man with some Deiss military blood in him, a Northerner who’s obsessed with the stories of Narcissus Knights. His name was Mendez Blane, he had been at it with little Godot since the first time Oscar’s seen him. The showdown between the two warriors had Oscar’s jaw dropped. Oscar remembered they had to use beast hooks to separate the two.

So, why did such a simpleton caught Prince Oscar’s attention? Mendez Blane’s only notable point was that he never questions Oscar’s words! As we know, to measure a person’s worth, that would be enough.

The fourth one was George Romiero. He’s from Vielonna, and was one of the few cavalry commanders of the Southern Army. In this class of students, he’s one of the highest ranking ones, as well as the most mature in age. At forty-eight years old, he’s very respectful toward Oscar. In his own words, Oscar had won the Southern Army an opportunity to battle, this was more exciting than any new war knowledge.

General George had also had a little fight with someone, and that’s naturally Murat who’s also a cavalry commander. They started fighting over some questions to the point that Murat left the room after calling George a ”stubborn geezer”, to which George replied with ”disrespectful brat”.

There’s one more!

Before moving our attention to the final gentleman, something had to be said. The Thirty-ninth Class of War History and Theories was like a small group of military officers, which includes different kinds of people. Some of them were like ”Walking Stick Torry” and were the exemplary hooligans in the army, the plebs among the nobles; Some of them were strong, just like Mendez Blane; Some were like General George Romeiro and were conventional bureaucrats; and finally, some were commoners like Krapitch Drake.

Aside from the four types of people, there was one type of soldiers, and those were the maniacs. There weren’t many of these in this particular class, so we will focus on the ones that were more representative.

Colonel Tantalus Piche, originally the staff operation of the Sixteenth Army. It was said he was sent to the War History and Theories class because he submitted his report directly to the superiors without going through the standard procedure. His battle plans were also teased to be ”a fantasy of middle-schoolers”. That was why the army sent him to this class so he could study war history, as well as to overcome his overactive imagination.

Oscar had read two of Mad Tatan’s battle plans, ”How to Conquer the Westland in 80 Days” and ”Seventeen Months to Conquer the Far East”.

After finished reading the two reports, Oscar told Colonel Tantalus, ”My friend, were you trying to disgust your superiors or were you trying to cause yourself nausea?”

Almost immediately, Tantalus Piche viewed O’Neil Andrew Morisette as his best friend.

The reception ended around midnight. Under the leadership of Walking Stick Torry, some of the drunkards were claiming that they wanted to go look for prostitutes. Oscar was worried they might trespass the girls’ dormitory, so he arranged for a team of knights to send these drunkards back onto their beds, as well as preparing buckets for throwing up and bath water for them.

The 10th Day of 3rd Month ended that way, but Oscar didn’t have much of an impression of it. He was so busy with school work, he barely had time to go home. General Rayleigh Thomas arranged for the young man to take an array of subjects. According to school regulations, he had to take the War History and Theories class, but the tutor also added subjects like Physical Education and Military Etiquette.

Oscar finally started his school life. He had a small suite on campus, and like all higher ranking officers, he hid alcohol under his bed and cigars inside the vase. He’s a Prince, however, so he still had some advantage over the others, for example, Snowstorm and little Godot who’s perpetually by his side, and all the little weapons he hid on him and underneath his pillow.

Every morning, the Prince would open his eyes half an hour before the morning bells rang, and Godot would have prepared his training outfits for him. Oscar would leave the suite after getting ready, not to buy newspapers or breakfast, but to jog to the Red Tiger base at Sparjoxin as part of his training.

After dragging himself to the base, Oscar would have been tired like a Deiss hunting dog, General Rayleigh didn’t stop the training. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings were horseback riding and strength exercise, and every other day would be group practice with the cavalry, as well as free sparring.

Oscar questioned every single topic he was presented on. He didn’t want to practice like other people do, but General Rayleigh had plenty of ways to fix it. He passed around the Prince’s schedule to every single Red Tiger warriors. In that way, some of the early-risers would start gossiping about the Prince. The Prince was late today; The Prince didn’t try so hard to get out of practice today; The Prince didn’t even wake up today!

Before long, Oscar knew the whole camp had their eyes kept on him, with every disciplinary faux pas he performed, it would be all over the camp within hours.

The young man made a promise to himself, this was nothing! He only didn’t want to be under his tutor’s control so easily, but since this development happened, he had to be more serious.

Since then, the knights noticed a plump kid was always sparring with other people in the mud, riding a horse on the field, practicing the military stances. Slowly, they observed something familiar in his eyes, to which General Murat commentated, ”That’s a soldier’s heroic spirit. Now, our superior has it.”

”Does it mean His Imperial Highness is finally a proper soldier?” Someone asked.

***************

”Of course not!” General Rayleigh pushed Oscar aside.

Oscar frowned. ”Hey! Old geezer! I defeated him, my sword was on his throat, it doesn’t count?”

”Of course not! It doesn’t count!” The General shook his head like it was a pellet drum. ”Kid! I know none of the people here would be able to defeat you one-on-one, but this is not a duel! We don’t need your fancy swordsmanship or complicated tricks! Look around you, remember you’re on a battlefield, you’re a general who’s drilling deep into the enemy’s base. Your enemy had your head priced, they will charge against you until countless blades and axes tear you apart.”

”What do I have to do then?” Oscar thought about the battle just months before.

General Rayleigh snapped his finger! Oscar started becoming alert, but as he turned around, a team of sword knights had already formed into an attack formation.

Oscar wanted to curse his tutor, but his thigh suddenly hurts. The knight he felled had bitten him.

”He… he cheated… you little bastard…” Oscar yelled holding his wound.

”No! You’re wrong! This is not cheating, he’s not dead yet, if I were him I would bite you too! Just be careful of your surrounding!” General Rayleigh left right after he finished saying.